BODY FOCUS - HIP FLEXOR

What is Your Hip Flexor?

Hip flexors help your body move every day! The simple movements of stepping, squatting and sitting are all controlled by your hip flexors. That being said, everytime you are tight while doing any of these simple movements, your hip flexors are the culprit!

They are located at the front of your body. Consisting of two muscles, the Psoas and Iliacus which attach to the lumbar spine, pelvis and femur. Sitting for long periods of time can cause your hip flexors to become tight.

How can you strengthen your hip flexor muscles?

Let’s walk through 2 different movements that will help strengthen your hip flexors:

• Supine Hip Flexor Activation

For this exercise, lay on your back with one of your knees bent in at a right angle, the opposite leg straight, and a neutral spine.

1. Your thigh should be positioned so your hip is just past a 90 degree angle toward your chest.
2. Begin to contract your deep hip flexors by lightly driving your straight leg towards your chest. This will lift your foot away from the ground.
3. At the same time, your other leg should be counteracting the motion by straightening and pressing down hard into the ground while keeping your back straight.
4. Hold for 3 seconds and then release to the starting position.
5. Perform 5-10 repetitions for 1-3 sets per leg or until fatigued.

Need a little help executing this movement? Watch this video.

• Psoas March

For this exercise, lay on your back with your knees bent in at a right angle and a neutral spine.

1. Wrap a tension band around your feet, keeping tension throughout the exercise.
2. Extend one leg and slowly bring the leg back,then repeat on the other side.
3. Complete 1-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions.

Need a little help executing this movement? Watch this video.

Why is it important to strengthen your hip flexor muscles?

Now that you know what hip flexors are and ways to strengthen them, let’s talk about what it is important to strengthen them! 

One of the main reasons it is important to strengthen your hip flexors is to alleviate tight and weak hip flexors which can cause lower back pain, hip pain, and even injury! This helps cut down on hip replacements and hip arthroscopy which is a procedure used to diagnose joint issues. 

Just by working a few minutes a day on your hip flexors, it will help diminish the possibility of getting hurt while doing simple movements such as lifting, pushing and pulling and potentially having to have a surgery!

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